 Welcome to Tuesday's edition of Washington Secrets, your guide to the ups and downs of the nation's capital … and beyond. Today we get the inside story behind Real America's Voice and its plans to move from pro-Trump news channel to music and cookery shows, Tricia McLaughlin tells us what comes next as she leaves the Department of Homeland Security, and we talk you through Liz Truss's guide to meeting the president… When Parker Sigg, vice president of Real America's Voice, watched Turning Point USA's alternative Super Bowl halftime show, he knew he was watching proof of concept for his own vision for faith-infused lifestyle and entertainment shows. "It really just solidifies that we're on the right track," he told Secrets. "People are tired, and they're fed up with what has been shoved down their throats for years." He has already launched a music label, Real America's Music, which specializes in tracks with a religious or Make America Great Again theme. Next will come a video platform, within three months, which will then be used to trial new formats and shows. "We will dip our toes into the water in some of our other pre-existing spaces as we go, before we step into a full lifestyle network," he said, following the model used by MTV, which started with music videos before branching out into a broader range of shows. It is a sign of how Real America's Voice went from a niche conservative outlet, dwarfed by Fox News, to becoming a player under President Donald Trump. It airs content by his key boosters, including Steve Bannon and The Charlie Kirk Show, while it now has a White House correspondent in the shape of Brian Glenn, who has become a household name for his Oval Office interactions with the president (not to mention his relationship with former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene). Sigg said there was an underserved audience illustrated by the number of people who watched the alternative Super Bowl show with Kid Rock. The YouTube video has been watched 21 million times, and the number is still growing. So what might a Real America's Cookery show look like? "The things around today may be marketed to adults and children, yet it may still include sexual provocation, where they make jokes, stupid little inappropriate jokes, sometimes of a sexual nature," he said. Secrets readers may recall one of the filthiest episodes of The Great British Baking Show, when competitors were asked to make "spotted dick." It is a traditional British steamed pudding studded with raisins, but the contest quickly became notorious for a string of innuendo-laden jokes. As one contestant tied up her pudding with a string, she said: "I need a finger, that's what I have a husband for, it's his only use." A move from news into cookery shows comes amid the growing success of movies aimed at conservative or faith-based audiences. Am I Racist?, for example, was the highest-grossing U.S. documentary in 2024, despite receiving little attention from traditional media. It was produced by the Daily Wire, a conservative publisher, and fronted by Matt Walsh, who satirized the diversity, equity, and inclusion movement. And Melania, the eponymous documentary following the first lady, opened with a record-breaking box office weekend, even if audience size has dwindled since then. Sigg said the company had big plans. "We want to be able to expand and put our messaging out everywhere," he said. "To do that, you've got to be able to increase revenue and top line. But again, we are doing this because we believe it is the right thing to do." Sigg, who worked for his father's WeatherNation channel from the age of 14, said it was all a natural evolution from covering news in the age of Trump. "News has become pop culture. The daily conversation used to be about celebrities and artists and musicians, but now the congressmen and congresswomen of today are celebrities in their own right," he said. But that can only go so far. "I also think that watching news all day, every day, isn't healthy for you," he added. Breaking – McLaughlin leaves DHS One of the administration's punchiest figures is leaving. Tricia McLaughlin told Secrets that she will be stepping down from her role as Kristi Noem's spokeswoman at the Department of Homeland Security but will remain one of Donald Trump's biggest defenders. "I'm not leaving the fight. I'm not going anywhere. It'll just look different," she said, confirming reporting by Politico. An insider said the move had been planned since December, but she had stayed on after the Department endured a string of terrible headlines after shootings in Minnesota. McLaughlin has been one of the administration's top TV performers, hitting back for Noem amid reports that she might be fired as Homeland Security Secretary. How to meet the president Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss continued her quest for relevance by spending the weekend in Palm Beach, Florida, snatching a picture with Donald Trump at his golf club on Sunday. She posted the picture of a pale-looking president with the caption, "Right about everything." Yet there was no mention of the meeting on any of the president's social media feeds or his official public schedule. Truss's own spokesman said he was not on the trip and so couldn't share any further information about discussions or agendas. But Secrets can. Or at least can share what has become a well-established playbook for donors, politicians, or wannabes to meet the president: Ask a friend with membership of Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach to invite you for lunch during a weekend when you know the president will be there, and wangle an introduction as you stroll through the grill room where he has his table. Truss recorded an episode of her podcast while she was in town. It is all part of her project exploring how Trump and his model of politics can be transplanted to the United Kingdom. In this episode, she pondered how to build a British version of Palm Beach, which she dubbed the "spiritual home of MAGA." Secrets's favorite part was the exchange with Paul du Quenoy, president of the Palm Beach Institute, as he described how the second Trump administration has been filled with right-minded people rather than the Deep State. Truss wondered how the same might be achieved in Britain if Nigel Farage and his right-wing Reform UK won the next election. "In Britain, you could ask people how they voted on Brexit … Was it against Brexit, and I think I'm getting into dangerous water," said du Quenoy gamely, remembering no doubt that fearless Britain First campaigner Truss had voted against leaving the European Union, before executing a U-turn and reinventing herself as a Trump-loving, populist Brexiteer. You are reading Washington Secrets, a guide to power and politics in D.C. and beyond. It is written by Rob Crilly, who you can reach at secrets @ washingtonexaminer DOTCOM with your comments, story tips, and suggestions. If a friend sent you this and you'd like to sign up, click here. Why Trump is hedging in Texas On Monday night, Trump said he has no plans to endorse any of the three GOP runners vying for the Senate nomination in Texas: state Attorney General Ken Paxton, Sen. John Cornyn, or Rep. Wesley Hall. Early voting starts today, and the race looks likely to go to a runoff. Word reaches Secrets that Cornyn's campaign is particularly miffed at the lack of Trump's seal of approval. As the incumbent, he might have expected the nod. But his people are not angry with the president, which would of course be suicidal. No, the target for their frustration is Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. They think his recent condemnation of Trump for posting an animation showing the Obamas as apes soured relations with the president, putting him off endorsing Cornyn, who is Scott's clear pick. Secrets says take the win and count your blessings that Trump hasn't endorsed election denier Paxton. Lunchtime reading What Republicans do, and don't, want to hear from Trump at State of the Union: In interviews with the Washington Examiner, GOP lawmakers set out their wish for Trump to acknowledge affordability concerns and immigration blunders, avoid 2024 election gloating, and leave political grievances at the door. Secrets merely wonders: how has that gone in the past? Obama Took On Recession, Health Care and Iraq. What He Didn't See Coming Was Trump: "[Former President Barack] Obama and his team never saw Mr. Trump coming, as a new set of oral history interviews released on Tuesday makes abundantly clear. He was, to them, a 'con man,' a 'clown,' a 'laughingstock.' He was a thorn in the side with his birther lies and demagogic bloviating." | 
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